Today’s homegrown wedding ceremony took place nestled within the beautiful pine trees at Mount Charleston, with a backyard reception to follow. Ashley and Dustin are Las Vegas locals who crafted almost all of this heartfelt, homegrown wedding by themselves.

You’ll be amazed at the thought and planning that went into this mountain wedding. From the rustic handmade benches and signage at the ceremony site to the romantic crisscross bistro lighting strings hovering over the reception space, JOA Photography captured all of the details!

The Ceremony
Our ceremony took place at Mount Charleston at Dustin’s grandparents property and was was one of our favorite parts of the wedding. It was a very intimate and personal time. We had God and our family and friends to share in this covenant that we were making.

The Reception
The reception followed, in the backyard of Dustin’s mother’s home. It was fun and definitely a party. We had a good time eating some awesome food and drinking of course. We danced a lot!!! They never tell you how exhausted you get at the end of it all!

Unforgettable Moment
Our stand out moment happened at the very beginning of our ceremony! We love our dogs like children and included our two very large great danes in our wedding party. Maximus, our male great dane, was one of Dustin’s groomsmen. Rogue, our female dane, was one of my bridesmaids! As I approached the altar to be given away by my mother the pastor asked, “Who gives this bride to this groom?” At that moment Maximus lets out the largest belch!! Everyone was laughing and of course I was very happy he stepped up to give me away!!

DIY + Handmade Details
A lot was handmade and DIY at the wedding – in fact most of the wedding was made by the me! All of the centerpieces and flower arrangements, including bouquets and boutonnieres, were designed and made by me. All of the signs were nailed and painted by both Dustin and I. We also went to antique stores and found old window panes to paint and use for a menu board.

All of the benches in the ceremony were made out of wood that came from the ceremony site, it was very rustic! Dustin made a cake/cupcake stand out of wood and logs, and we also made a large ribbon wall to disguise some of the backyard area. The lighting and tablerunners were handmade as well. We made some games for people to play at the wedding such as giant Jenga and had a kid’s play section with custom coloring books I made for the kids to take home. We also had a s’mores bar!

Dustin + Ashley’s Advice
Our advice would be to plan ahead and try to do things yourself! You don’t have to have a really expensive wedding to have a good time and for it to be beautiful!

Guest Count + BudgetThis rustic homegrown wedding had around 100 guests and the budget was $10,000.

Oh, I LOVE this! I liked how they stood on stumps and were elevated during the cermeony. JOA’s colors tones fit the mood perfectly and they really knocked it outta the park! Sweet wedding (with lots of hard work in the details)!